News and Announcements

June 3, 2011: As an update to AAVSO Special Notice #241 (http://www.aavso.org/aavso-special-notice-241), the supernova in M51 has been designated SN 2011dh. Discovery, classification, and observation information have been published in IAU CBET 2736 (Daniel W. E. Green, ed.).

AAVSO member, observer and science educator Dr. Pebble Richwine has had a minor planet named in her honor - 268242 Pebble. Pebble did her PhD in science education at the University of Arizona where her dissertation was on using variable stars in elementary school science education. She's given talks at many AAVSO meetings and is currently a science educator in Georgia.

May 27, 2011: Dr. Steve Howell (NASA) and Dr. Travis Rector (University of Alaska, Anchorage) have requested AAVSO observations of several bright giant variable stars of diverse classes. This request is for immediate support of spectroscopic observations to be made at Kitt Peak National Observatory between 2011 May 30 and 2011 June 01 (JD 2455712 - 714). However, observers are encouraged to continue long-term monitoring of these objects.

Minor planet 12789 Savadoraguirre is named for AAVSO member/observer Salvador Aguirre, M.D. (observer code "ASA"), an avid amateur astronomer from Hermosillo, Mexico. He has conducted many observations of variable stars, asteroid occultations, meteors, and comets. He has also help popularize and coordinate amateur astronomical research within Mexico.

May 17, 2011: Ernst Pollmann, an active spectroscopist in Germany and leader of Active Spectroscopy in Astronomy, has requested the assistance of AAVSO photoelectric photometry (PEP) observers in a campaign to observe the S Doradus variable P Cygni through the 2011 observing season.

PEP data are needed for correlation with spectra of P Cyg obtained by Ernst and other spectroscopists as they study this very interesting star.

The following is a chat transcript from May 9, 2011. The topic of the chat was the History of the AAVSO and variable star observing with guests Dr. Mike Saladyga and Dr. Tom Williams. Some footnotes are at the bottom.

The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is looking
for an administrative assistant with immediate availability. The ideal
candidate will work well in a team environment, but demonstrate
initiative and perseverance. The AAVSO is a small non-profit in the
Fresh Pond area of Cambridge, serving a membership of amateur
astronomers across the world who wish to contribute scientific
observations of stars that vary in brightness. We are celebrating our

Mira variables are the longest-observed class of stars for which we have long-term quantitative data that allow us to study their behavior over centuries-long periods of time. Fortunately for us, they're also easy to observe and monitor, having some of the largest amplitudes of all variables, and hundreds of them are bright enough that they're within reach of astronomers with modest telescopes.

Its an old story that astronomy is being drowned in data and its only getting worse. We have needed a "central clearing house" of sorts and the Virtual Observatory aims to be one solution in this vein.

Astronomers have also experimented with various methods of alerting interested people as to events as they happen and when they need to be followed up on. This is the concept behind VOEvents.